I'm new here, I was in no hurry to make threads, in fact I thought it would be many weeks or months before I made my first thread but I just had to share that news and I did not see any relevant thread to post it in.

It does ram home the fact that there are certain things money cannot buy. IMO the dead duke was the richest man in the country. (I don't rate ''new money'' billionaires like steel magnates, or Hans Rausing (tetra pak) or Russian satellite state billionaires.) This is serious old money we're talking about! It appears to have always been a burden, he looked unhappy and his entire family have had the sort of illnesses that money cannot cure, sadly. He was only 63 or so. A gentle, pleasant guy by all accounts.

Sorry Jules, missed this. Well, in my view, if he was that miserable it was such a large fortune he could have felt a lot less miserable by using it to help others less fortunate. The fact that they have arranged it so they don't even pay inheritence tax says everything.

Oh, and do carry on making threads, your's have been a lot more interesting than some (sigh) lol

Jules wrote:I'm new here, I was in no hurry to make threads, in fact I thought it would be many weeks or months before I made my first thread but I just had to share that news and I did not see any relevant thread to post it in.

It does ram home the fact that there are certain things money cannot buy. IMO the dead duke was the richest man in the country. (I don't rate ''new money'' billionaires like steel magnates, or Hans Rausing (tetra pak) or Russian satellite state billionaires.) This is serious old money we're talking about! It appears to have always been a burden, he looked unhappy and his entire family have had the sort of illnesses that money cannot cure, sadly. He was only 63 or so. A gentle, pleasant guy by all accounts.

Great first thread Jules.

Youngsters who inherit so much money...(and this is an unbelievable amount) don't always fare well. Hopefully he will put some of it to good use.

_________________My body is in Manchester (sometimes) my mind's all over the place (always)Happy now??

Jules wrote:I'm new here, I was in no hurry to make threads, in fact I thought it would be many weeks or months before I made my first thread but I just had to share that news and I did not see any relevant thread to post it in.

It does ram home the fact that there are certain things money cannot buy. IMO the dead duke was the richest man in the country. (I don't rate ''new money'' billionaires like steel magnates, or Hans Rausing (tetra pak) or Russian satellite state billionaires.) This is serious old money we're talking about! It appears to have always been a burden, he looked unhappy and his entire family have had the sort of illnesses that money cannot cure, sadly. He was only 63 or so. A gentle, pleasant guy by all accounts.

HIS FATHER was previously ranked the richest Brit, (and the second-richest British 'resident' -- as the #1 position was the Indian boss of the TATA corporation who spends half the year living in England..), in international rich lists...

Their family wealth would likely be more than double that of the Windsor-Mountbattens..

The father had also been described at times as "a cousin" to the Queen -- they probably meant through a couple of marriages ?

_________________It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.Our life is frittered away by details. Simplify, simplify.The mass of men lead lives of quite desperation.Henry David Thoreau

Jules wrote:I'm new here, I was in no hurry to make threads, in fact I thought it would be many weeks or months before I made my first thread but I just had to share that news and I did not see any relevant thread to post it in.

It does ram home the fact that there are certain things money cannot buy. IMO the dead duke was the richest man in the country. (I don't rate ''new money'' billionaires like steel magnates, or Hans Rausing (tetra pak) or Russian satellite state billionaires.) This is serious old money we're talking about! It appears to have always been a burden, he looked unhappy and his entire family have had the sort of illnesses that money cannot cure, sadly. He was only 63 or so. A gentle, pleasant guy by all accounts.

HIS FATHER was previously ranked the richest Brit, (and the second-richest British 'resident' -- as the #1 position was the Indian boss of the TATA corporation who spends half the year living in England..), in international rich lists...

Their family wealth would likely be more than double that of the Windsor-Mountbattens..

The father had also been described at times as "a cousin" to the Queen -- they probably meant through a couple of marriages ?

Yes he might be a distant cousin via a common ancestor 7 or 8 generations back, in the same way that David Cameron is a distant cousin too, maybe through George III who had 15 kids who no doubt spread their 'seed' everywhere!! Our royals were of solid German stock in fact they were all practically thoroughbred Germans, for centuries, until quite recently. The current non royal aristocrats are the true English people and many of them are as wealthy as the royals, if not more so.

Syl wrote:Most of the reports I have read concentrate on this lads inherited vast wealth ....the death of his father just seems to be mentioned in passing. Sad.

Cos his dad's phenomenal wealth is the specific reason his death is such big news. Remove that from the equation and this death would barely make a paragraph in the local rag. It is the sheer magnitude of his wealth that created this media buzz.

Plus several other talking points attached to it - the outdated promigeniture rules, the astonishing avoidance of inheritance tax, and the fact that the heir is a babyfaced batchelor with dubious judgement and maturity.

Syl wrote:Most of the reports I have read concentrate on this lads inherited vast wealth ....the death of his father just seems to be mentioned in passing. Sad.

Cos his dad's phenomenal wealth is the specific reason his death is such big news. Remove that from the equation and this death would barely make a paragraph in the local rag. It is the sheer magnitude of his wealth that created this media buzz.

Plus several other talking points attached to it - the outdated promigeniture rules, the astonishing avoidance of inheritance tax, and the fact that the heir is a babyfaced batchelor with dubious judgement and maturity.

Yes I know why the lad is suddenly wealthy, it just seems disrespectful for anyone to die suddenly, and reports of his life and death be considered less newsworthy than the amount of dosh he leaves behind.

_________________My body is in Manchester (sometimes) my mind's all over the place (always)Happy now??

Cos his dad's phenomenal wealth is the specific reason his death is such big news. Remove that from the equation and this death would barely make a paragraph in the local rag. It is the sheer magnitude of his wealth that created this media buzz.

Plus several other talking points attached to it - the outdated promigeniture rules, the astonishing avoidance of inheritance tax, and the fact that the heir is a babyfaced batchelor with dubious judgement and maturity.

Yes I know why the lad is suddenly wealthy, it just seems disrespectful for anyone to die suddenly, and reports of his life and death be considered less newsworthy than the amount of dosh he leaves behind.

I know what you mean but this was a death from natural causes and there is not an awful lot to say about it. What else is there to say? The sadness of bereaved family and friends is a given, it's not newsworthy to say how sad it all is, we already know it's sad.

Yes I know why the lad is suddenly wealthy, it just seems disrespectful for anyone to die suddenly, and reports of his life and death be considered less newsworthy than the amount of dosh he leaves behind.

I know what you mean but this was a death from natural causes and there is not an awful lot to say about it. What else is there to say? The sadness of bereaved family and friends is a given, it's not newsworthy to say how sad it all is, we already know it's sad.

I just feel his family should have had time to grieve before the lad, who has not courted any publicity, was splashed all over the newspapers.

_________________My body is in Manchester (sometimes) my mind's all over the place (always)Happy now??